Nineteenth-Century Masters of Angono Art
By: JAMES OWEN G. SAGUINSIN
With Foreword by: Elena Rivera Mirano, PhD

Series: Fifty Shades of Philippine Art
Copyright © 2023 Vibal Foundation, Inc.
128 pages; 22.86 x 30.48 cm

Dating back 5,000 years to ancient petroglyphs carved on cave walls, Angono’s long artmaking tradition has produced two National Artists, numerous art galleries, and the famous Higantes Festival. The town gained renown as the “Art Capital of the Philippines” after Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s modernist paintings captivated the art world. However, even a master like Botong stood on the shoulders of Angono’s giants who came before him—artists like Juan Senson, Pedro Piñon, and Moises Villaluz Sr. The works of these old masters, Angono’s own “triumvirate,” are little acknowledged and seldom studied, apart from a few pieces that have ended up in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas collection as cultural treasures.

Nineteenth-Century Masters of Angono Art endeavors to write anew the town’s art; and history, showcasing the lives and oeuvres of these foundational artists. Author James  Owen Saguinsin has spent more than twenty years doing research in Angono and; its neighboring towns, interviewing local residents and relatives of the artists, and; scouring old bodegas and family homes for artworks that have managed to survive war,  calamity, and the ravages of time and neglect.

Illustrated with more than 100 artworks—most unearthed by the author and; documented here for the first time—this book explores the history of Angono, the; role of Senson, Piñon, and Villaluz in shaping the town into the national art center it is; today, and their contribution to the Filipino artistic identity.

Our contemporary artists surely stand on the shoulders of Botong Francisco.
But Botong stood on the shoulders of these great masters who came before
him. Much more than just a historical presentation of the life and works of
Senson, Piñon, and Villaluz, this book makes us realize the greatness that
runs in our blood…. The greatness of Angono does not depend only on the big
names that made, and continuously make, our town known. It lies in every
simple and ordinary citizen of Angono.
— Fr. Reginald Rivera Malicdem
Rector of Manila Cathedral